You people are freaking me out with my new D7000

I decided to treat myself to a new camera body to replace my beloved D80 over the holiday break.  I hadn't even considered the purchase, but a friend of mine was wondering about the move to DSLR and wanted my help with a body and lens.  While I was shopping with him, I started playing with the D7000 and succumbed to the temptation!  I read some reviews (Mr. Rockwell and others) and based on the reviews, I felt as though I'd made a wise purchase... especially where $$$ is considered  (739... yay LD)....  I've always been happy with my Nikon gear (starting with my original D50) and have never feared where Nikon is concerned.  That said...

I'm not normally given to the "fear factor" where general public observation about product defects are concerned... you know... people focus on the few negative elements of a new product offering and the next thing you know... it's branded a lemon... I'm far from believing that in this circumstance, but I am wondering about my new D7000 considering all of the negative posts on the very first page of this forum.  I've not been too active here in the past few years, but I've always come back here because I very much respect the opinions of many of the long timers of this forum...

so... my question... what say you DPREVIEW forums... D7000... dynamo or dud?  I'm interested to hear from those who've been using this body for at least a year.

Thanks in advance!

PS... I've decided to keep the D80 for now... I still love the darned thing and when I'm finally ready to part with it, I'll give it away to an aspiring photographer... just to encourage them!

--
D7000, D80, D300s, 18-200 VRII, 24-120 VR,
Tamron 90mm, Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D,
Sigma 10-20mm - SB-800
50mm 1.8D
Gear up..... Get out there!!!

Very good question. Here is a list of folks to PM here who have indicated a positive experiance with the camera:

4Motioner 6fingers AAnnette Aaron01 Aborigene ace1259 ActArtPhotog adamba aldante alembical Alexandro Alice OLeary AlvinLeyva anand75 Anker amatorb4  Andrew antoineb Anders Agerskov aoverment aProSpective argonzero Aristoc asaf v astrograph awmawm BackInTheGame barimud beemerman2k BergSonne  bhD7000 Bigassbike  BillyInya bimmerman Birdkai  Birdmanstudios bkushner Blindman blistered_paws bluenoser23 bhiller bick1 BillD7000 Bob in Baltimore boblug BPJosh Brad BradM73 Brendan H Brian S T Brooke A Davis brucet bstoneberger Davel99 cabello Cabowner cactusklaw5schel CarlosNunezUSA cdubman CFynn CGooden CherryO chris nolan  Chuvarsky c-kay clivef Colweb compulsive  Congo1 Cope countrybutterfly crankerchick D7K-AR Dan W Danel Danl B Dave Davel99  David Clarke29 David Grabowski Clayton1985 dkearl dbbarron Dave Thompson Courtenay Dean DEEWUN Demontis digitography Digital Click digitalmisty dnorth12 Dusty72  dgc4rter  Dominique  Dierick DigRookie dougietee DvD5 Dyeman eadrian75 EchoCharlie Ed Pulido Edu Piva El Duende DukeCC eNo EricBellens ersouza  emveezee Eternalstudent evan47 evoJim gerry328 GMack golfer1 Gordon61 Greg Nold Grig fenris117 Flako falcon888 FMPhoto halai halcon Hansplast26 harri Hazemhaddad HB 101 heinzguderian Hendra Highlander77 hiro_pro Hollandgirl Holmes375 Hotphotons HSway IainD ibous InnerDemon IeraseU  Imagination4 isson J D Wells JakeB Jamuz j_brownch Jan De Luyck James7000 Jaybar JCDSAG Jeff4500 JeffD7000 Jerry Jerry_39 Fisher jfk jimmybob JMZ48 joaquin100 Jlow34 joaquin100 Joe0928 Joe Porto John_I johnbachel Jonathan Gill jongjong jonikon jonrobertp j_photo jschlarb jtan163 juan_cruz julgus_sweden garyking genece gregp701 guyfromtor k2guy Kamil Öge Kandy10 kay4401 KB64 kbarni KeithAK kerrang Kevy knightmelodic lablover latyshevv Lance B Larold larrywilson Lars Fosdal leighton w leebee LeftyAce Lelitsch Lifer Logge lorange madecov MadManAce Mando MarceloLI Mike mandp manni Mannypr malabito Mark in Oz marike6 Markovich Mariano  Marianne Oelund Matix Matt Mc mdiphoto me2000 meumerke McCouchie mgblack74 mholguin miguelyn mike3125 Mike Cialowicz mikethompson mikew MRM4350 mrmacro Mr C from England MRM4350 mguttman Mofongo motobloat mrfau neulee newphotogall Nightrider72 Nightwings Nikguy Nikobean  NikonScavenger Nizmoh NowBlue odujim olynik969 omaha Onetrack97 PaulTheBuilder Pentaprism PESL Peterv.dWerf pgilland PhotoChuck photojohne plben piccino poliscijustin Psonicfan  puffthefish ranamo Randy Z Rahul Mukherjee  Ray in Kingwood Rayooo RayTZ rb0321 RedMac Red Beard Reilly Diefenbach rhlpetrus Riker D RobbieV Robbm Robert_Palmqvist Robertomendo Robert Iorizzo RockyBalboa RonAnnArbor RossAndrew rpps rsHari Russmosis SaltLakeGuy sambru  Santelia scarper86 scokill Scud49 Shmuel Shooraq Simplythebeast sirrajf Sivashankar Skarstrom skeen smacznykonsek SoDecent  songeun7 Sosua spbStan spiral69 Steve Bingham Steve_in_FL Stephen Brenner Steffen Rasmussen stemarcoh Stepan Spinka sshoihet starman1969 str8pipe stuntmonkey sudirdjo Surf photos tashley tatanka tc333 TDoc TF442 Thaddius The Doug thirdeye1969 thojdavi thomas2279f Tigadee tihomirj TimelessPixel TimT tyb Danton  The Big One Tom Ferguson TOR8472 tr4driver tray48 tribefan4u1 tvajo tvnewsbadge Tyr-Sog UKphotographers UTAH DAVE Urban K VAT69 vb_engr vagtanklan  VittoDigital Vladimir_Yanushkevich Wah Werner Gansz winter1 Winterfell WIZZARD0003 wlad Wojciech Sawicki Chan XLTimbo Yakbutter yycguy Zane Paxton zig123 zirtico

Here is a list of those who've indicated otherwsie. Always best to check both side odf the coin.
ahiggins333 Angry-pixel anotherMike astigmate Barry Fitzgerald bewing77 bigmike0351 bwigg cambob Chutterman crismicro David Cappello FrankG  Fred Mueller FWB3 Gunzorro itatorro jasjas JCKV Jever68  jimofcan JolieO JonTav JRA1962 KatelynS keejoonc lipper Logan nobblynoel Nolag Looleylaylow MarkJH michelsan mstar mtoneill mugupo neil bryant NewD7000 nfpotter nikstr nobblynoel ocean76 perry rhodan pilot175 photoz4all RadarK ray_bright SG09 sjackson462000 Soverain Swedish Hambern Thrasher Timothy twenty200 SY Underwater76 voudas wizardtwo zzzzzzzzzzz

I personally have used it for almost 2 years and think it the very best DX camera Nikon has produced at this price point or lower. That said, it is not a D80 and handles much different in many ways from focus to metering. Learn to drive it well and many a nice trip it will take you on.  Good Luck

Wow... MAKO...

What a great reply and encouragement... thanks!  That says it all!  I'm pretty excited about my new toy and am going hiking in the snow this weekend to put it through it's paces.  I want to add another piece of glass to my bag... but i think the next one is going to hurt my pocket book.... I love my D300s and my D80 too, but I also thought the technology of the new 7000 was too good to pass on for the $$$.  I'm not one to wait on the "next release"... and it could well be that the 7100 comes out in the next couple of months... pixels be damned... from the reading I've been doing, I don't think I have anything to worry about.

Thanks for the quick reply!

T

--
D7000, D80, D300s, 18-200 VRII, 24-120 VR,
Tamron 90mm, Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D,
Sigma 10-20mm - SB-800
50mm 1.8D
Gear up..... Get out there!!!

You can add my name to Makos list of happy users.

Granted the D7000 is my first DSLR but in the 10 months I've owned it I would consider it a dynamo.

Cheers

--
https://www.facebook.com/SDHPics
http://500px.com/greatscott94
http://sdhpics.pixoto.com

Just make sure you give the memory card to my family....after you've pried the camera from my cold dead hands. .... because.. that's the ONLY way I'll give it up.

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Nikon AF - One Shot ..... One Kill

I may not be the most qualified to say anything. But I just upgraded my D90 to the D7000 and am LOVING it.  Great camera that I'm sure is gonna take some re-learning. But hey that goes with anything new and more advanced.

I'm still happy with mine, coming up on two years. I still shoot my D90 just to keep it working, but the D7K goes with me always.

--
Michael
http://www.flickr.com/photos/c36sailor/

It is a great camera. Don't forget this is the complaint department.

Reminds me of what a Ford mechanic told me once, he said he had never seen one that was not broken and would never buy one because of that.

--
Everything happens for a reason. #1 reason: poor planning
WSSA #44

My is 2 years old with 40,000 shutter clicks. It's a great camera. Just expect to spend some time learning to get the most out it.

+1 to what Mako posted. The D7000 was my first digital camera. It took a while to learn, but the features are breathtaking. Moreover DX format is quite enough for me. So I am not waiting breathlessly for more Pixel count, or anything else.

And I doubt that I'll be tempted of a model 7100 or 7200 come out with Nikon product announcements on Jan 8.

yep... that's about right... and most of the fun  Thanks everyone for your kind replies.  I was pretty sure I'd made the right choice...

buying the body was the easy part... picking my next lens.... ughhh!  I shoot mostly indoor so I'm looking for faster glass (High ISO performance is why I picked the 7000)... I'm thinking of another prime (35mm 1.8) but I am also considering the Sigma 17-50 2.8 OS HSM... there SO MANY CHOICES!

--
D7000, D300s, D80, 18-200 VRII, Nikon 50mm 1.8 / 1.4,
Tamron 90mm, Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D,
Sigma 10-20mm - SB-800
50mm 1.8D
Gear up..... Get out there!!!

How long did that list take to compile

Darin

he freaked me out even more... the list was there within 10 minutes of my original post!  I was pretty shocked!

--
D7000, D300s, D80, 18-200 VRII, Nikon 50mm 1.8 / 1.4,
Tamron 90mm, Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D,
Sigma 10-20mm - SB-800
50mm 1.8D
Gear up..... Get out there!!!

It's been compiled over time...and it's a good camera, but there are some on the list who have changed there mind, but that's pretty much the nature of all things. I think once you've learned how to use it you're not going to be disappointed with your purchase.

.. not exactly in-depth research then? Enjoy your new kit but be prepared for surprises.

David

Add me to the list Mako.

Cheers

Shane

With the D7000, if you are a newbie, you have to be willing to learn photography.... it is NO point-and-shoot camera!  I think the camera gets a bad rap (mostly) from folks who simply expect that such an expensive and complex camera must be able to handle all photographic situations each and every time... only to discover that its great complexities require knowlege of shutter speed, aperture, ISO and every subtle nuance in between, above and below.  I purchased the D7000 nearly 2 years ago as my first DSLR, knowing nothing about photography.... I purchased it because I was hungry to learn something new in my life and the D7000 was the Mother Lode.  To me, the D7000 is an advanced photography course you can hold in your hand.   I am on that list of happy owners and I'm glad to be there! If you don't commit yourself to some learning (and if you don't resign yourself to a whole bunch of botched photos at first) you might be wise at considering a simpler camera.  The rewards of learning the D7000 are sweet for those who stick with it however!

Hi Tyym,

I'm another happy recent D7000 adopter and have had both lenses mentioned above. As I'm in the UK (you may be too), the dull winter definitely means benefiting from a faster lens for indoor shooting when you don't want to depend on flash.

I found both lenses great but have now sold the 35mm 1.8, not because it wasn't great but because I just don't feel the need for it after getting the Sigma 17-50 2.8 OS. I have a 50mm 1.4 too which I no longer feel I need.

For me, the OS is a deal breaker as it radically improves hand held video as well as stills. I've found my copy to be just as sharp as the 35mm (though less so at the very outer edges). I don't see this as any problem as I have to pixel peep to even notice. For me, the D7000 and the Sigma 17-50 is a perfect combination for a wide range of needs so is attached to the camera 90% of the time.

Thanks Eyeman7.... that's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for!

--
D7000, D300s, D80, 18-200 VRII, Nikon 50mm 1.8 / 1.4,
Tamron 90mm, Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D,
Sigma 10-20mm - SB-800
50mm 1.8D
Gear up..... Get out there!!!

I guess that wasn't the most accurate statement... there was a day in between the playing and the buying that was filled with reading  As with every camera... there are always little surprises... as long as a spider doesn't crawl out of the body... I'm good

--
D7000, D300s, D80, 18-200 VRII, Nikon 50mm 1.8 / 1.4,
Tamron 90mm, Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D,
Sigma 10-20mm - SB-800
50mm 1.8D
Gear up..... Get out there!!!